All hail, the king
by Asiramx
Summary: Osomatsu was just about to be proclaimed king. However, he is dethroned and is forced to ally with unfamiliar people to regain his place in the throne.
1. Chapter 1

A/n:

Finally, I got this fic up! This chapter is going to be super short, but the next one will long I promise! :) Enjoy!

Gomen this is rushed.

* * *

"How is that, you get to be king and I don't?! I'm the most responsible one here!" Choromatsu crossed his arms with a grunt, muttering about how unfair it was.

Osomatsu chuckled at his brother's jealousy. Today, is to be his coronation. His parents had retired from the throne and were now far away from the country. They sent him their blessings and hoped for the best. His coronation; did not go without controversy. A lot of people in his court thought he wasn't ready for the throne. That, he was too irresponsible. Even his own brothers' agreed.

People were going to attend anyway, no matter how hesitant they were about their new King. Nobles were expected to come. There were people outside waiting for their king to greet them. It made Osomatsu nervous, knowing thousands of people were going to watch. He hides it, by wearing his usual lazy grin.

His younger brothers were already waiting. Karamatsu had given him his blessing a long time ago. So had Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu-well sort of, Ichimatsu had asked, how long it will take for him to get assassinated. Jyushimatsu didn't seem to understand, what was going on.

Todomatsu grunted at him, just like Choromatsu. He was upset, he wasn't king.

His brothers decided to toss their bitterness for one day and celebrate. Except for Choromatsu, of course.

"You think you can help me out, Choromatsu?"

Osomatsu was wearing military attire. Even though, he had never served the military in his life. On this occasion he had to wear it. It consisted of red and gold. Choromatsu was wearing the same thing, but green. His younger brother fastened the buttons on his suit.

"You better not fuck this up, Osomatsu." His little brother grumbled, inspecting his brother's suit for any glaring mess-ups.

"Thanks, Choromatsu, for your everlasting support of your big brother." Osomatsu grinned at his brother.

Choromatsu frowned at him, "I didn't mean it like that, I just-"

Choromatsu was cut short when the door opened revealing Karamatsu. His attire was the same. Except, for the fact that his was sparkling. Osomatsu winced at his brother's painfulness. He thought Choromatsu should have focused his attention more on making sure Karamatsu didn't embarrass him at the coronation.

"We're ready, my brother."

"We'll be with you in a minute." Choromatsu didn't turn to face his older brother. The door closed once again.

Choromatsu glanced at his brother, a frown still present on his face. Osomatsu felt uneasy. Was he going to scold him again? He had enough of that, already. He was tired of it. His younger brother clasped his hands on his brother's shoulders, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. I fear the pressure, might-"

Osomatsu held his hand up in the air to stop him, "I'll be fine, Choromatsu. You WORRY way too much! Your brother has this in the bag!

Osomatsu could barely stay awake as the priest talk about his ancestors. He thought this was coronation thing was going to be fun, not another history lesson. He looks over to his brothers, and grinned. Choromatsu was giving him a death stare. Karamatsu gave him a thumbs up, Ichimatsu wasn't really paying attention himself, he awkwardly shifted around, wanting to leave while Jyushimatsu was bouncing up and down. Todomatsu rolled his eyes at him and huffed.

The rest of the audience was watching with serious looks on their faces. What a bore. He was going to change a few things when he became king.

"Your highness."

"Huh?"

"You may stand up now."

Osomatsu stood up from the floor to face the priest, he had a sword in his hands. It was dark red, "Your father had the blacksmith's forge this for you." Osomatsu stood there with a stunned expression, he slowly took the sword from the priest's hand. He unsheathes the sword and held it up in the air. A chorus of people shouted, chanting his name.

He felt a thrill overwhelm him. Choromatsu was smiling at him now, clapping his hands in signs of support.

The priest gestured towards the throne behind them, "You may now take a seat-"

The door blasted open to reveal soldiers entering the room, a man with a suit walked in the room, he had a staff in his hands and a scar on his right eye. He grinned maliciously at everyone. The people moved out of the wizard's way.

"Ahh, Osomatsu-kun. It's been so long since I last saw you."

"Tougou."

Osomatsu's lowered his sword, a serious look written on his face. He clenched at the handle tightly. His brothers were quickly by his side. Holding their own swords.

"What do you want?" Osomatsu asked, he stepped forward. He appeared to be fearless, deep down. He was scared. He remembered that voice all too well. It had been years since he had seen this man.

"What do I want?" He repeated the question with a snarl, "You know exactly, what I want."

"You're supposed to be in prison." Choromatsu said, this time, "We had you locked away-"

"If you think sealing me away while using magic bindings, was going to stop me. You thought wrong, my apprentice."

"I'm not your apprentice, anymore." He spat.

"I'm not letting you get the throne. You're going to have to fight me." Osomatsu glared at the wizard with disgust.

"With pleasure." He blasted Osomatsu with dark magic. His body slammed onto the throne. The wizard laughed, "This is _your_ king, everyone. You expect to rely an entire country on this boy. He could bring this kingdom to shambles!"

Choromatsu quickly went to his brother's aid, "Osomatsu!"

"Oh no, you don't." He murmured an ancient spell under his breath. Choromatsu felt his feet freeze to the floor.

"Choromatsu!" Karamatsu cried out, rushing towards them.

He hurled another wave of dark magic. Choromatsu deflected it by summoning a shield at the last moment.

Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu were already at Osomatsu's side, helping him up. Choromatsu murmured a spell under his breath. The Ice melted under his feet.

Todomatsu ran towards Choromatsu, helping him up along with Karamatsu.

"Are you alright, Choromatsu-niisan?"

"Osomatsu."

"The Matsuno reign has ended!" Tougou held up his staff. A loud roar is heard. The ceilings caved in to see a dragon making its appearance

"We have to leave!" Karamatsu urged, "It's too dangerous!"

Choromatsu nodded. He glanced over to his brothers who were watching him. They were relying on him now to get them out. Jyushimatsu had Osomatsu over his shoulders. He was still unconscious.

Rubble was coming down from the ceiling, people were running out the throne room, several people were lying on the ground. Blood stained their floors.

"Oh god..."

"Choromatsu! Get it together!"

Choromatsu snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, "Everyone get close to me. I'm going to teleport us out of here!" Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu ran towards their brother. Tougou locked eyes with Choromatsu.

"Leaving so soon?" He grinned.

"Get them!" He held up his staff again, ordering the dragon to attack them.

"Choromatsu!"

"I need to concentrate!" Choromatsu said. He took a deep breath. Despite, the threat closing in on them. He murmured an ancient language under his breath. A seal appears below them. Before, the dragon could attack. They disappeared.

They appeared out on the field; that was facing their home. It was now in shambles. Half of the palace was destroyed by Tougou. The village that was below was partially set on fire. People running away from the soldiers that stormed the streets.

"We're safe." Todomatsu breathed a sigh of relief.

"But, they're not." Karamatsu frowned at the people running away from their homes.

"We have to keep going." Choromatsu pants. The magic that he had used, drained him.

"Well, that didn't last long." Ichimatsu scoffed. He had been quiet the entire time. Choromatsu glared at him.

"Let's go." Choromatsu sighed.

Karamatsu looked back at his home sadly. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to help his subjects. But, he also had to help his brother. With a sigh, he followed his brothers, not looking back.

They traveled for what seemed like hours. Todomatsu was starting to complain about his legs hurting and how he couldn't walk anymore. The brothers just had enough of his complaining. They spot a barn not too far from when they were. The brothers exchanged looks at one another, they sighed and went inside the barn.

They placed Osomatsu on some hay. The rest of the brothers did the same.

Osomatsu felt warmth on his chest. He cracked his eyes open to see Choromatsu staring down at him. His hands on his chest, the green light illuminated throughout the room.

"Where are we?" His voice was hoarse.

"Away." Choromatsu answered.

He went to sit up, "Don't." Choromatsu warned, "They're burns on your chest from where Tougou hit you with his magic."

"Tougou." He hissed.

Choromatsu removed his hands from his chest when he was done. Osomatsu sat up from his best and took a look around. They were on an old abandoned farm. His brothers were sleeping soundly on hay. He and Choromatsu were the only ones awake.

"Are you okay?" His brother asked, clearly worried about his older brother.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Osomatsu glared at his brother, "I just lost my home."

"I-I'm sorry."

Osomatsu looked at the sword that lay on the hay. He turns away from it. He failed. He failed as a king.

He couldn't even protect his home from danger.

How pathetic is that?

"I failed."

"No." He grabs his brother's hand, "You didn't. It came as a surprise. We weren't prepared.

"That's the thing, Choromatsu." Osomatsu hardened his glare, "We weren't prepared. Due to that, we're screwed."

"I wonder if mom and dad are okay." Choromatsu decided to change the subject. He wondered; if his parents were safe. Sure, they were out of the country. He feared Tougou would go after them too. After all, he had a bone to pick with them too.

"I'm sure they are."

His face softened. He squeezed Choromatsu's hand, "What are we going to do?" His brother asked.

"We fight back."


	2. Chapter 2

They rested for a full day. Osomatsu had stayed up all night, thinking about the events that took place. He was beyond pissed. He lost everything, his home, his throne, his title. How the hell was he going to get it all back? He sighed angrily. When he went to fight Tougou, he blasted him away like he was nothing. He was easily taken down. What kind of king passes out after one blow?

"One of us should head out and see what's up." Choromatsu suggested to his brothers'. Osomatsu was only half-listening to his younger brother. His head was still in the clouds.

He looks down at the sword. He didn't deserve to have it. His father was probably disappointed in him for not defending his kingdom. For not protecting his people. He should have handed the crown over to Karamatsu. He would probably handle things a lot better than him. Osomatsu puts the sword back down with disgust.

"Osomatsu-niisan."

Osomatsu snapped out of his thoughts to see Todomatsu frowning at him. He had a hood over his head. His sword sheathed behind his back. Osomatsu raised an eyebrow at his brother, he looked like he was going out.

"Where are you going, Todomatsu?"

"If you were listening-" Todomatsu began scolding his older brother, "You would know, I'm going to go undercover to see what's going on in the village.

"No. Out of the question. It's too dangerous." Osomatsu rose up from the hay, only to be greeted by pain from when he was blasted with magic, "I won't allow it."

"I don't care, if you don't allow it. It's already been decided. I'll be back in a few hours. I just wanted to say goodbye to you, before I go."

Osomatsu darted his eyes away from his younger brother, "Go ahead and get yourself killed for all I care."

"Oi!" Choromatsu shouted, "How can you say that?!"

An awkward silence lingered in the air. No one said a word. Todomatsu clearly looked displeased. His younger brother turns towards his brothers, "And you wonder why people are hesitant about Osomatsu being king."

The corner of Osomatsu's mouth twitched. His words hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Todomatsu!" Karamatsu was the one to shout at his younger sibling next, "Stop that!"

"-He's lousy, he's immature." He continued, "he couldn't even beat someone without getting knocked out-"

 **"** **ENOUGH!"** Choromatsu snapped at his younger brother. Choromatsu walked over to his older brother, grabbing his hand, "He's just gathering information and nothing else. He won't get hurt. There's no need to worry, Osomatsu-niisan. I thought you said, you wanted to fight. So, I thought the best way we could do this by getting information. The nearby village is not far from here."

Osomatsu sighed, squeezing his brother's hand again. He hated it, when his brothers see this side of him, "Alright." He said, finally meeting his younger brother's gaze, "But, take Karamatsu with you."

Todomatsu groaned, "Great. I'm going to have painfulmatsu with me."

Osomatsu grinned at Todomatsu's annoyance, "It's for your protection. You don't know much about sword fighting-or fighting in general."

Karamatsu pulled his younger brother close to him, "We're going to have so much fun, my brother!"

"We'll see you soon." Karamatsu waved. The two left the barn. There were only the four of them for now. Osomatsu took deep breaths. He hoped they would come back soon.

"Don't worry. They'll be back." His younger brother soothed.

"Yeah! They'll be back." Jyushimatsu rushed over to his younger brother, jumping on the hay, "You'll see!"

Ichimatsu was sitting in a corner. He was playing with the hay that he was sitting on, "And you say, Choromatus worries too much..."

Choromatsu needed some time to think things over. He was pretty sure, he added numerous of spells to Tougou's bindings, making sure he will never escape. So how did he escape? That was a question that kept lingering in his mind. He might have had help. There was no way he could have possibly escaped on his own accord.

He made sure. He had promised Osomatsu that Tougou would be locked away forever. He said that to his older brother's face when he had first sealed him away a long time ago. He was free now, and who knows how Osomatsu must feel now. He knew, he was scared. He feared; Osomatsu would be angry with him for not keeping his promise.

He wished, he had his spell book right now. He could have busied himself by studying. He could normally clear his mind that way. Choromatsu knew that Tougou probably had those destroyed by now.

He felt fire burning. He frantically looked around to see grass was on fire. Choromatsu quickly put it out by using his feet. He really needs to control his magic. He was normally in control of it. Choromatsu just felt guilty for not being to protect his brother. It was just eating at him.

"Aha! Catch me, nii-san!" Choromatsu could hear Jyushimatsu running around. Ichimatsu was chasing him around.

"Get back inside, you idiot!" Ichimatsu shouted after his brother.

Choromatsu shook his head. Those two were adults. Yet, they acted like children.

"Be careful, you two! Don't attract too much attention!"

"Okay, nii-san!"

Choromatsu walked back inside the barn to see his brother finally up from the hay. At least, his brother was up and not in pain anymore. He seemed to be in a better mood, then he was before. It was out-of-character to see Osomatsu so angry like that. Choromatsu understood why he was so upset. He didn't want his brothers to get hurt.

"You're up, Osomatsu."

Osomatsu smiled at his younger brother. It appeared to be genuine, "Yeah. It's no use for me to be moping around in the barn. I might as well, get up and walk around.

"Are you okay?" He asked again.

"Yeah." Osomatsu pats his brother on his shoulder, "I'm definitely okay! I'm going to keep an eye on Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu, okay?

Choromatsu knew his brother all too well.

He was lying.

Todomatsu entered the town with his older brother. The streets were filled with life. They were soldiers stationed in every corner which made both brothers nervous. The soldiers, no longer had the matsu emblem on their chest plates, meaning they were no longer affiliated with the family.

"Look." Karamatsu gestured with his head towards a flag near the town's square. The flag-no _their_ flag that had once stood proudly was now half burned.

"News travels fast." Todomatsu stared at the flag grimly, "Let's not draw attention to ourselves, okay?"

They started walking, blending in with the crowd. Todomatsu listened intently at anyone was talking at a nearby radius. Nothing, they were saying was important. However, he did love a little bit of gossip...

"Todomatsu, focus. Our brothers' are depending on us."

"Did you hear about the king being dethroned?" Todomatsu had stopped to listen in. He didn't know where the voice came from. But, they sounded pretty close.

"He was no king, at least not yet. Another person said. Todomatsu noticed; two girls standing by a vendor, talking. "that the princes' were massacred during the attack."

"This is scary."

"Who is going to take the throne?"

"The grand high wizard."

"Didn't the king and queen banish him?"

"I've heard enough." Todomatsu left, with his brother in tow.

"Don't give up, my brother." Karamatsu frowned. He couldn't bare, hearing the gossip. He wanted to let his loyal subjects know, he was very much alive and well.

"I'm not." Apparently they were dead to the public. At one hand. He should be pissed off about this. He wasn't. Todomatsu could use this to his advantage. While they wouldn't be able to roam freely without any disguise. Since, they all looked alike. If they had their hoods on and blended in with the crowd, it shouldn't be much of an issue.

As long as the guards didn't take notice.

"Let's split for more information and meet up before nightfall." Todomatsu suggested.

Karamatsu seemed hesitant about leaving his baby brother alone for so long. Todomatsu rolled his eyes at Karamatsu's over protectiveness. He could handle himself.

"If I don't return before nightfall, then you can start looking for me. Todomatsu waved at his brother, nonchalantly. Karamatsu opened his mouth to say something. He quickly closed his mouth and went towards a different direction away from prying eyes.

Karamatsu didn't have luck. Not like he had any luck in all his life. He couldn't really talk to anybody. What happens if they turn him in? He was supposed to be dead. At least; that's what the rumors have told him.

He had tried listening in, only several people were talking about the incident back home. Just thinking about home made his heart break. He felt helpless. He maneuvered himself past the people at the marketplace where he had been listening in. He decided to take a break by entering an alleyway, away from the people.

How could have happened? It took him by surprise to see Tougou again. It had been so long. It had been ten years since he had seen the wizard, not since that incident with Osomatsu.

"Hey, stop you idjit! Thief!"

"Huh?"

A man was running off with a bag. Another much smaller man was chasing behind him. But, he looked like he was running out of breath.

Karamatsu drew out his sword, chasing after the thief that had stolen this man's belongings. He caught up to the thief, "Hey, stop! You have stolen this man's belongings. You must return them now!" When the thief didn't stop, he quickened his pace. He grabbed the thief and slammed him onto the cold concrete ground.

He didn't like to use physical force on anybody without good reason. He tried telling himself this as he took the bag from the thief, "I'm sorry. You left me no choice." He turned around to give the bag back to the little guy, "Here you are, good sir!"

The stranger looked back at Karamatsu with a smile, he took the bag back with gratitude, "Thanks!"

The thief got up from the ground, whipping out a knife.

"Watch out, you idjit!"

Karamatsu turned around to see the man charging towards him. The blade slashed Karamatsu's face, he hit the ground with a thud.

Before Karamatsu could respond. The thief ran off. Karamatsu felt his face. Blood was seeping through his slash mark.

"Hey, are you going to be okay?"

Karamatsu turned his attention towards the guy, "Ahh, it's not a problem!" It was nothing, Choromatsu couldn't fix with his healing magic.

"Thanks for your help." He smiled at Karamatsu.

"Not a problem! I'm always here to assist the helpless."

"Riiiight." The little man grunted at him in annoyance, "What's your name?"

"Kara!" He almost said matsu, but stopped himself short.

"Nice to you meet you, Kara! I'm Chibita!"

"A pleasure."

"So what's in the bag?" Karamatsu asked curiously. Chibita looked at the bag with a grin. He opened the bag to reveal some oden that he had been carrying. Karamatsu almost drooled at the sight of it. His stomach grumbling.

"Oden! I was able to buy several with the money I scraped up. It's not as good as mines! I used to make oden-Hey," He cuts off suddenly, noticing how hungry Kara looked, "You want some oden? I only have another left and it's on a stick. If that's okay?"

"You're too kind, Chibita. I couldn't possibly take it."

"I insist." He got out the oden from the bag, handing it over to him.

Karamatsu took the oden into his hands, taking a bite. It was good. He grinned at the other with satisfaction, "I couldn't thank you enough."

"Not a problem, your majesty."

Karamatsu paled when those words came out of Chibita's mouth. He grew nervous quickly, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"You think I'm dumb, you idjit? I could tell you were royalty from the moment you opened your mouth, plus-" He gestured towards his sword that was unsheathed, "The sword has the family crest on it. So, the rumors are false! You guys are alive-Unless, one of you escaped?"

"N-N-No, all of us escaped, unharmed." Karamatsu stammered out. He screwed it up. He had one job and he screwed it up.

Chibita could sense his nervousness and let out a laugh, "Don't worry! Your secret is safe with me, Kara!"

Needless to say, Karamatsu wasn't convinced.

Todomatus stood waiting in front of the entrance of the town square. People were returning to their homes now. Which made him nervous. Karamatsu was supposed to be due back a few minutes ago. The guards that were standing guard nearby were paying him no mind at all. Which made him relieved in a way.

He had several bags in his hands, which contained food. He didn't exactly pay for them. More like he stole it-Well, no. That wasn't correct. He had flirted with several women in the area, which was a risky move. Apparently, women liked mysterious individuals. It was fun to lie to them. He was used to doing this in court. He had all the women fawning over him, back home.

"Where are you, you idiot?" Todomatsu muttered under his breath. Along with being nervous, which would make him stick out like a sore thumb. He was also freezing. He had only had a hood on and a shirt that covered by the hood.

Finally, a familiar face appeared. Todomatsu was about to breathe out a sigh of relief when he saw a stranger next to him. He quickly frowned. His older brother had one job.

"Who's this?" He asked.

"Hello to you too, Todomatsu." Karamatsu said, his eyes darting everywhere.

"I'm Chibita!"

Todomatsu glared daggers at his older brother, "What happened?"

"Long story short, I helped Chibita with a thief and he knew my identity-"

"You idiot!" Todomatsu hissed at him, "You blew our cover and now-"

"Hey, hey! Relax." Chibita reassured the younger matsu, "I'm no threat at all. I won't tell anyone at all."

"He's offering to cook for us." Karamatsu finally looked at his brother, "It's the least I can do for blowing our cover."

Todomatsu looked like he was considering this. It was convenient, seeing as he just 'bought' food for his siblings.

"I'll have to talk to Choromatsu about this. He won't be pleased."

"I know." Karamatsu sighed, "I'm sorry."

"Let's go." Todomatsu exits the town square, ignoring his brother's apology.

Choromatsu waited anxiously for his brothers' return. He had paced up and down. They were due to return an hour ago. The rest of his brothers were now inside, they were watching him with worry which made him more nervous. Due to his change in emotion, several items in the barn started to levitate. Hay floated in the air, even Ichimatsu started floating.

"Get me down or I'll kill you!" Ichimatsu shouted at his older brother.

"Choromatsu!"

What if his brothers didn't come back?

"Choromatsu!"

What if they got caught?

"Oi!"

"What if-"

"Choromatsu!"

"Huh?!"

Osomatsu grabbed his brother's shoulders, shaking him, "Stop it!"

The hay dropped to the ground, along with Ichimatsu fell on the hay safely. Jyushimatsu immediately jumped up from the hay to tend to his older brother.

"Are you okay, Ichimatsu-niisan?"

"...yeah..."

Jyushimatsu wraps his arms around his older brother. Ichimatsu tensed up before leaning on his younger brother.

Osomatsu rubs his Choromatsu's back, "It's going to be okay, they're going to be okay."

"I know. I know. I was..." Choromatsu's voice trails off. He got overly worried again. It was pathetic really, just earlier. He was the one reassuring his eldest brother not to worry. Now, the roles were reversed.

He just didn't want to disappoint his eldest brother. Again.

"I need to control myself, this is getting out of hand."

"With time, Choromatsu." Osomatsu reassured.

"We're back!" They heard their younger brother call out. Everyone immediately left to greet their younger brother.

Choromatsu rushed outside to discover a stranger with the two of them. He frowned at the two of them. Before, he can open his mouth. Todomatsu pointed at Karamatsu.

"Blame him."


	3. Chapter 3

Choromatsu sighed in frustration as Todomatsu explained their current situation. Karamatsu was outside by himself, avoiding his brothers. He knew that his older brother was afraid to face them. He had made a mistake, a huge one. Choromatsu will admit, it was probably a good mistake, as the man, he had brought with him knew how to cook. He had sworn just earlier; his lips were sealed. He didn't even need to be threatened, much to Ichimatsu's dismay.

The rest of his brothers were by the campfire, watching Chibita cook. Their mouths were watering after a day without any food in their stomachs. They had quickly accepted him into their group as soon as he said, he can cook. Osomatsu had welcomed him with open arms. Choromatsu, however, was taking his time. Watching Chibita from afar, if he tried anything. He can quickly get rid of him.

"You hungry?"

Choromatsu quickly snapped out of his thoughts to see Osomatsu staring at him, he was offering bread with fried fish that Chibita had cooked. Choromatsu hesitantly took the plate from his eldest brother's hands, inspecting it.

"Worrywart." Osomatsu teased. Choromatsu twitched at him, he took a bite of the fish and his taste buds immediately exploded.

"This is delicious."

"Told you! You have nothing to worry about."

"Excuse me, for having legit concerns about our new friend here." Choromatsu huffed at him, taking more bites out of his food.

Osomatsu chuckled, patting his brother on the back, "I'm at ease; because of you, you know?"

Choromatsu smiled at this, "Really?"

"Really."

"Just be on your guard, Osomatsu. You can't trust everyone."

"I know."

"Tomorrow, we'll have to leave again." Choromatsu said. He feared that Tougou could be catching up to them as they speak. The wizard knew that the brothers were alive and could be actively searching for them. He wanted to be far away from the kingdom as possible.

Osomatsu frowned at this. Choromatsu understood how he felt about the whole situation. Until, they could be able to recapture their home, they were powerless to do anything.

"We'll be able to reclaim our home. Right?" Choromatsu asked his eldest brother.

"How? How are we going to do that?"

To be honest? He didn't have a clue, how, he was going to do that. He was more focused on running for now. Perhaps, going into hiding. His magic was no match for Tougou, especially since Tougou had taught him how to use magic, "I don't know. We'll figure it out, Osomatsu."

Osomatsu nodded. A determined look written on his face. That's what he liked to see, His brother confident. It puts him at ease, seeing him this way.

"I'm going to kick Tougou's ass."

"We'll all do it together."

"Where are we going?"

"Well, Totty said they were soldiers in the nearby town. We may have to travel to the next town. If I am correct, it's a village with a small population. It might take us two day's tops."

"That's sounds tiring, Choromatsu!" His older brother let out a whine. Choromatsu grew annoyed with his older brother immediately.

"You have any better ideas?"

"Nooo."

"Then, hush."

Karamatsu sighed. He had disappointed his brothers' once again. They did seem to enjoy Chibita's company. The scorn look that his youngest brother was giving him throughout the journey back to the barn, never left his memory. It was a look that he often got from his siblings, all too often. No matter what he does, one of his brothers would always yell at him, insult him. He had tried many times to defend himself from their insults.

He started humming a song under his breath. It would normally calm him when he felt distressed. Like his mother, who could sing. He had learned to sing from her. He often recalled her, holding him close, singing to him while his brothers' were sleeping.

He hoped his mother was safe.

"Kara!"

Karamatsu glances over to the voice that called him. Chibita held up a plate in front of him, "Eat up, idjit!" He smiled proudly at him, "You need it for your journey!"

"Ahh, thanks Chibita!"

Are you okay?" Chibita asked, sensing something was up with his new friend.

"Nothing, my dear friend. I am fine!" Karamatsu smiled at Chibita, striking a pose for him. He took a bite of his bread, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He gives Karamatsu a thumbs up.

"Your brothers said I could travel with them!"

Karamatsu immediately perked up, upon hearing this, "Really?!" This was great, he finally had a friend to talk to. He didn't have any, back home.

"Yeah!"

"It appears that our fates have intertwined." Karamatsu grinned at his friend, "Destiny awaits us."

Chibita laughed which caught Karamatsu by surprise. Normally, his brothers would groan at him, whenever he spoke like that. But, Chibita laughed. A genuine laugh. Karamatsu laughed along with him, finally happy to have a friend.

"Come on, inside. Idjit. It's cold out here."

"Coming!"

Karamatsu quickly went inside the barn. He was in a happier mood than before. This won't be so bad after all.

His brothers were surrounding the campfire. Ichimatsu was glaring at him from where he was sitting. Karamatsu's eyes darted his eyes to avoid eye contact. He didn't know what he did to deserve such scorn from his younger brother. He probably hated him more, due to his screw up. It didn't matter to him right now; apparently his brothers' had something important to say. If they were all together.

"So." Choromatsu began, "We're going to be leaving here tomorrow. We are going to be traveling to a village a day from here, so there is going to be a lot of walking. I-We don't know what we are going to do, at the moment. It's something we're going to be talking about in the future. Right now, I'm focusing on getting as far as possible."

"We're running away, then?" Ichimatsu frowned at his eldest brothers, "What are we? Cowards?"

"You want to take them head-on, Ichimatsu?" Osomatsu said, arching an eyebrow at his brother, "We don't have an army. We have nothing."

"I'll kill them, myself. If I have to."

"Nii-san!" Jyushimatsu scolded Ichimatsu, "Stop being so difficult!"

"It's only until we reach mom and dad. I'm sure they know what to do." Choromatsu chimed in, "We'll get support there."

"Now, for our next discussion. We have a new friend joining us, as you know."

Everyone turned to Chibita. He waved at the brothers with a smile on his face, "He'll be cooking for us for now on, so food is no longer a problem for us." Choromatsu casts a glance towards him,"You can actually thank Karamatsu for once."

"Anyway," Osomatsu interrupted, "The next thing, is that we have to burn our suits." They were loud murmurs among his brothers. Osomatsu waited for his brothers to stop talking before continuing on, "It's the only way, we only have the two hoods that we found in the barn. We have to burn our suits because it screams royalty and we want to avoid that."

"We're going to look like commoners?!" Todomatsu shrieked, clutching his suit.

"Sorry, Totty."

"I vote Totty goes first." Ichimatsu says, grinning evilly at his younger brother.

"Me too! Me too!" Jyushimatsu bounced up and down.

"Don't worry, Todomatsu. I know how you feel." Karamatsu soothed, trying to comfort his younger brother. It went unnoticed, sadly.

"Come on, Totty." Choromatsu sighed impatiently, "It's not that difficult."

Karamatsu watched as his youngest brother slowly took off his suit and threw it into the fire. Followed by Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu, Karamatsu took off his suit next, and threw it in the fire. Osomatsu and Choromatsu did the same.

The brothers went their separate ways, shortly after. All of them took their places on the uncomfortable hay and eventually everyone went to sleep.

" Come here, my son." King Matsuzo gestured towards his eldest son. Eleven-year-old Osomatsu made his way into the throne room, where he greeted his father.

"Yes, dad?" Osomatsu didn't know why he was brought into the throne room. He shifted nervously. He was normally brought here when he was in trouble. This time, he was met with his dad smiling down at him. Osomatsu immediately relaxed.

"I would like for you to meet someone," He gestured towards the red curtains behind him. A man with black hair appeared with a staff. He was a tall and slender man. The way the man smiled, was just off-putting.

The man smiled at him. For some reason, Osomatsu felt creeped out by him. He couldn't explain it, there was something off about him.

"Who is he?"

Matsuzo frowned at his son, "It's polite to introduce yourself, first."

Osomatsu looked at the man, "I'm prince Osomatsu, It's a 'pleasure' to meet you."

"I'm Tougou." He grinned at the young prince.

"He's a wizard from the country." Matsuzo explained to his son, "He has come to teach Choromatsu magic! Isn't that exciting? "

Ahh, so that's what this was about. Choromatsu's magic abilities had just awakened. It was unexpected. No one really saw it coming and it was kept secret from the kingdom. The nobles weren't keen on magicians and often fought to have them, separated from everyone else. However, his father wouldn't have it. 'Everyone is equal' His father would say.

" Yes," Osomatsu nodded, "Why couldn't you just bring Choromatsu in here?"

His father frowned at him once again, "I wanted you to be acquainted with him before I introduce him to the rest. Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, dad." Osomatsu shook his head, "May I leave now?"

"You may."

Osomatsu quickly left the room. Matsuzo turned towards Tougou with an apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry about my son. He can be rude at times."

"Worry, not." Tougou waves his hand dismissively, "He'll come around eventually."

"Osomatsu."

"Huh?"

"Totty's back with clothes."

Osomatsu didn't know how Todomatsu got the clothes. He didn't care as long as he didn't attract attention. Which didn't seem to be the case; He said that he had talked his way into getting these for them and that they should be grateful for it.

"Karamatsu-niisan. These are for you." He tossed him a blue tunic, with light blue pants. He held up black boots for his older brother to take, "Here." When his brother took them, he went digging for Ichimatsu's outfit, It was the same as Karamatsu's, but purple. He gave each of them their respective hoods.

The rest of their brothers took their clothes off and put them on. Todomatsu put on his outfit, despite his reservations. If he was going to dress as a commoner. He was going to be a fashionable commoner, if that made any sense.

Their swords were hidden by the hoods.

"You idjits, ready to go?" Chibita asked.

All of them exited the barn, and heads out towards their journey.

"Admit it, Choromatsu. We're lost."

They were walking on a thick, narrow path in the middle of nowhere. Trees surrounded the group, It was almost nighttime.

Choromatsu grunted at his eldest brother with disdain. They had been traveling since they left the barn. Which was yesterday; Everyone was groaning and complaining about how much they needed a break. He wanted to move on.

"It's only a few more hours."

"Come oooooooooon." Osomatsu whined at his younger brother, "We need to rest."

"Fine!" Choromatsu threw his hands up in the air in defeat.

The brother threw themselves on the ground. Chibita got out bread for the brothers, "Here you guys are." He handed out the bread to the brothers. They sat down, relaxing.

The bushes started rustling and low muttering can be heard. Choromatsu heard it, he casts a glance towards his brother. Osomatsu gave him a confused look, "Did you hear that?" Osomatsu narrowed his eyes.

"No, I didn't. It's probably the wind, Choromatsu."

Choromatsu grunted. He sure as hell, heard something. It wasn't just his imagination-

More of the bushes started moving, until four buffed men appeared from the bushes. Everyone jumped up from the ground, their hands on their swords. The men chuckled. Bandits, no doubt.

He wanted to say, 'I told you so.' To his brother. Osomatsu shot him a glare as if he knew, he was going to say that.

A man with disheveled brown hair with a purple tuxedo appeared. He had a huge overbite. Osomatsu could barely contain a snort. He wasn't taking this seriously.

"What do you want?" Choromatsu asked, trying to act brave. He wasn't expecting bandits to appear. He should have known.

The thief smirked at his prey, he had them right where they want them, "Me wants your money. Isn't that right boys?" He said, turning towards his chanted loudly.

"We don't have money." Karamatsu said. He was acting a lot braver than Choromatsu, "Please leave, we do not like to use force."

"Then give us what we want!" One of the bandits demanded, brandishing his sword.

"We already told you, we don't have any money." Ichimatsu clutched the handle of his sword, "Leave, or I'll kill you."

"I guess, you gave me no choice! Get them boys!"

"Chibita! Hide!" Karamatsu yelled out. One of the bandits charged towards him with his sword. The bandit swings his sword at his target. He easily dodged the sword by moving out the way. He swung again, this time, Karamatsu blocked it with his own sword. He looked back to see Chibita gone. He sighed in relief.

Karamatsu kicked the bandit in the knees making him stagger back, he swung his sword, the blade slicing the bandit's chest.

The bandit screamed in pain, which made Karamatsu falter, "Are you alright?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

The bandit punched him in the face, making Karamatsu fall to the ground with a thump.

"Karamatsu!" He heard Choromatsu call out to him.

The bandit stood over him, the blade raised over him and quickly went for the kill. Karamatsu was sure he was going to get stabbed. Nothing happened.

He looked up to see Ichimatsu blocking the bandit's sword with his own. He kicked the man back, his foot connected with the bandit's stomach. The thief doubled over in pain, taking this as an advantage. Ichimatsu plunged his sword onto the man's back.

Karamatsu paled upon witnessing this, "I-I-Ichimatsu...?"

Ichimatsu pulled the sword out of the man's back, "Get up, you idiot." He grabbed his arm and harshly yanks him up, "Go help the rest, NOW!"

With that, Ichimatsu was gone.

Karamatsu glanced down at the bandit. He wasn't moving, his body surrounded by blood. He looked over to the man with the overbite, who looked as shocked as he was.

He looked at the battlefield and noticed Todomatsu having trouble with another bandit. He dashed over to his younger brother to assist him.

Osomatsu blocked each and every one of the guys moves. He could tell his opponent was getting frustrated. Once in a while, his opponent managed to get a few hits. He had slash marks on his face, it stung. It was the least of his concerns at the moment.

The bandit swung his, the blade hitting his waist. Osomatsu winced in pain. He stood his ground, letting out a pained smirk.

"Is that all you got?!"

The bandit lets out a battle cry, charging towards him. Osomatsu waited for the bandit to come closer. He kicked the guy in the balls. When he was down, he used the swords handle to knock him out.

"I was really hoping, you would put up more of a fight." He bends down, poking the guy's head.

Todomatsu holds his sword awkwardly in his hands. He barely blocked the bandits. He lets out a whimper as the bandit swung again. He ducked down and moved away. He kept running and the bandit ran after him, laughing at him.

"You're weak!" The bandit taunted him.

Todomatus cried out for one his brothers to help him. He felt the blade hit his leg, he immediately fell to the ground. Todomatsu started sobbing. The gash on his leg looked deep, blood seeping from his wound. He pats the ground, looking for any weapon he could use to fight the bandit. He grabs a rock from the ground and throws it at the bandit.

"Why, you-" The bandit sneered, wiping his face.

He was cut off when Karamatsu tackled him to the ground. He wrapped his arms around the man's neck, The bandit struggled with him, thrashing around until the bandit is knocked out.

"Karamatsu-niisan."

"Come on." Karamatsu helped his brother up, having his arm around Karamatsu's shoulders.

"It's going to be okay." His brother comforted him, leading him away from battle.

"Thank you, Karamatsu."

Taking notice of his fallen men. The leader backs away, about to head out. He felt hands wrapped around him tightly.

"You're not going anywhere!" Jyushimatsu laughed happily. He lifts him up and slams him on the ground.

Ichimatsu was already by his side, pointing his blood-stained blade at his throat, "Should we kill him?" He said. He gave the man below him a death stare.

"No! We shouldn't! Let's wait for the others to decide." Jyushimatsu said, sitting on the man.

"You're no fun..." Ichimatsu sat next to him.

That takes care of that. Choromatsu sighed, he wished things would have ended well. Ichimatsu had just killed one and the rest is knocked out as far as he's concerned. He made sure every brother was accounted for. Chibita reappeared again after the fight. He went to join the others who had the leader.

Choromatsu looked at the fallen men. Wait, weren't there four of them? He frantically looked around for the fourth bandit.

Osomatsu noticed his panic, and rushed towards him.

Behind him, the bandit stabs him in the stomach. A blood curdling scream escapes his throat.

"Choromatsu!" He heard someone call out his name, he didn't know who.

He appeared dazed. He felt the guy wrap his arms around his throat, lifting him up from the ground. The bandit's hands wrapped around his throat. Choromatsu lets out a strangled cry. Black spots appeared in his vision.

This was it, he was going to die.

Who the hell gets killed by lowly bandits?

No. No.

He can't die.

He won't die.

NO!

He will be damned if he died, right here.

Choromatsu's eyes turned green. His hands engulfed in green flames. Roots emerged from the ground and wrapped itself around the bandit, making him let go of Choromatsu. The roots wrapped itself around the man's throat under Choromatsu's command.

"Choromatsu!"

Roots grip on the man grew tighter.

"Choromatsu!"

And tighter.

 **"CHOROMATSU!"**

Choromatsu snapped out of his trance, falling to the ground. The roots loosened it's grip on the bandit, letting itself slink back to the ground, "Choromatsu!" He shook his brother, "Choromatsu!"

There was no response.


	4. Chapter 4

"Me is sorry!" Iyami the thief shrinks under the sight of the blade being pointed at his throat. Ichimatsu was close to killing the man below him. He wasn't so tough, now. He pressed the blade, drawing blood, " N ow, you're begging for forgiveness? After what you did? No, I don't think so. You could have killed our brother. I think I should return the favor."

"Me didn't who you were, zansu!" It was all the more reason to kill him in Ichimatsu's mind. He knew who they were. He raised the sword in the air, about the strike the man.

"Don't." His eldest brother ordered, "Don't do it. You'll be sinking to his level!"

Ichimatsu let out an irritable sigh. He turns towards his brother with a scowl, "You're going to let this man get away with what he has done?!"

"We're not going to focus on that, right now! Just let him go!"

Osomatsu turns towards Choromatsu. His little brother was lying on the ground, out cold. Chibita was working on him along with Jyushimatsu's help. Osomatsu returns his scowl, approaching his brother, "I SAID. PUT. THE. SWORD. DOWN. If I have to stop you myself, I will." This was one of the rare moments where his eldest brother was serious. Ichimatsu lowered the sword, making a loud 'tch' sound at his eldest brother.

He wanted to mutter out 'coward' out loud. He didn't. He kept his mouth shut as Iyami slowly got himself up from the ground, stumbling away. This man; knew who he was now. If Choromatsu found out about this, he wouldn't be too happy about it.

"Ichimatsu."

He heard Jyushimatsu say behind him. There is blood coated on his sleeve. Ichimatsu glanced over at his youngest brother. He was sobbing like a baby. Karamatsu was tending to him.

"If you want, I can take 'care' of him. " He said, referring to Iyami.

"Don't." He shrugged his shoulders as if the situation didn't bother him, "It's not worth it..."

"Come," Ichimatsu felt Jysuhimatsu grab his hand, pulling him towards his brothers, "We have to help."

"There should be some plants here I could use to help with the stab wound." Chibita eyes with met with Ichimatsu, "You! Ichimatsu is it? I need you to find some Achillea Millefolium."

"Eh?"

"Better known as yarrow, it's uh." He continued, "It's white, like a feather. I need several of them for both of your brothers."

"I'll go with Ichimatsu!" He heard Jyushimatsu say happily. Why was this idiot so happy? Doesn't he know the situation they were in, right now?

The two went off the trail to look around for some Yarrow.

"You killed someone, today."

Ichimatsu casts a glance at Jyushimatsu. His brother had a serious look on his face. He gave his brother a squeeze, "You were protecting, Karamatsu-niisan."

"The idiot was in the way..." He averted his eyes away from his younger brother, "He should have watched, where he was going."

"You care..."

Jyushimatsu would never understand it. How, he felt. There was a moment of panic when he saw Karamatsu. He was about to be cut down as if he was nothing. He had no choice, but to act. He would never forget the look, Karamatsu gave him when he killed the bandit. His brother must think he was some kind of monster. He didn't blame him.

"Nii-san, look!"

Jyushimatsu pointed towards the field of yarrows. He ran towards them, picking them up with his hands.

"Get a handful. We might need them later."

Jyushimatsu grabs the flowers and walks back towards the rest. Ichimatsu sullenly followed behind his younger brother.

"I got the yarrows!" Jyushimatsu waved the flowers in the air. Chibita got up from the ground, taking one of the yarrows. He took the yarrow leaves, rubbing the leaves on Choromatsu's wounds.

"The wound is deep and he may need to be stitched up." He peers up to Karamatsu, handing him one of the leaves.

"Thank you, Chibita." Both Ichimatsu and Karamatsu looked at one another. Karamatsu gave him a sympathetic look. Pft! He didn't need his sympathy. Unlike him, he can keep it together.

Osomatsu had Choromatsu on his back. He had taken off his hood to wrap around his brother's wound. They had to find someone who could stitch Choromatsu's wound. Todomatsu looked like he was holding it together the last time Osomatsu checked. He was limping. Maybe, when Choromatsu woke up, he could heal the wound.

The blood soaked through Choromatsu's own cloak, so they had to replace it with his. With the help of the herbs. The bleeding managed to stop. Chibita says, he's worried about Choromatsu gaining an infection. According to Choromatsu, before he was stabbed; they were only several hours away from a village. What that village was, he didn't know.

He could hear Todomatsu whimpering in the back. Karamatsu humming to calm him down. It seemed to be working as Todomatsu's sobbing was replaced with soft snoring.

It was a risky move, walking like this. He would have to have Karamatsu got into the village to get him a new hood.

After hours of walking, they finally made it.

A strong breeze flew past them, they were on a hill that was overseeing the village. The ocean nearby by the village. The houses were white huts, they were windmills far from the village. It seemed quiet and isolated. He couldn't tell if this was a good or a bad thing. If he wasn't in a worry to get Choromatsu some help. He would have admired the view.

"Look!" Chibita pointed towards a small hut. It was close by. There was a farm behind the hut, smoke appearing from the chimney, indicting that someone might be home.

They walked down the path towards the hut. He was still worried about his younger brother not waking up. So far, he was only pale and the bleeding had stopped. Chibita had said, he was just out cold, and he was lucky to be alive.

Osomatsu was the first to knock on the door. There was no response at first, he was going to knock again. Until the door creaked open. A woman's face appeared at the door,

"May I help you?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour." Osomatsu said, rubbing the hair behind his head, "My brothers are hurt, and we need help."

The woman stared at him. Her eyes widened in shock. Osomatsu gulped. She probably figured out who they were.

To his surprise, she opened the door wider, moving aside to let the boys in, "C-Come in." She said rather nervously.

"Thank you." Osomatsu said, walking inside the hut. The place was rather big inside. There was a small cot near the window that was pointed towards the ocean. There was a small dining area that consisted of a table and several chairs.

"Just put him on the cot and the other one on the couch," She said, referring to Todomatsu, she took notice of the slash mark on his ankle, I'll tend to them, immediately." She instructed. Osomatsu placed his younger brother on the cot gently. Karmatsu placed Todomatsu on the couch as the lady instructed.

Osomatsu observed as she opened his shirt to see the wound, "Well, the good news is that it doesn't look infected." That made Osomatsu sigh of relief, "However, I may need to stitch him up, alright?" She looked back at Osomatsu, she didn't appear worried,"The wound is deep and I need to close it up, in case, he does get infected and I- might have to ask for your brothers to leave."

He turns towards his brothers; who were crowding the hut. He nodded towards the rest. They all nodded, leaving. He caught Jyushimatsu staring at the girl, his mouth closed for once, before leaving.

Osomatsu chuckled to himself.

Choromatsu woke up to feel the breeze blowing at his hair. He felt comfortable. His surroundings were fuzzy before his eyes finally adjusted. He was in a room, covered by a white fluffy blanket. Where was he?

"Heey, Choromatsu!"

He peers up to Osomatsu, staring at him with a grin, "How've you been?"

Choromatsu was about to sit up until Osomatsu laid him back down, "Don't. Homura had just stitched you up. You don't want to re-open those, do you?"

"Who's Homura?!" Choromatsu demanded. He felt his head and realized, he didn't have his hood on, "No, no, no-"

"Relax. We're going to be fine. Homura's really cool. She even helped Todomatsu!"

"Osomatsu..."

Osomatsu knew what he was going to say, he was about ready to tune him out, "She helped you, she helped Todomatsu. It's been a day since we've been here. Don't you think she would have told someone by now?"

He grumbled. It was a sign that his older brother had won the argument for now.

"Where are we?" Choromatsu asked.

"Kyofu valley."

"Ahh. So we made it, after all." he said, relaxing, "Good."

"How's the magic?"

"I feel weak, nii-san."

"Ah." There was a long pause before he continued, "You uh... lost control of yourself."

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Of course, he did. He always did. He had no better control of his powers from when Tougou was teaching him. In fact, it had gotten worse over the years.

"How bad?"

"Really bad."

"Great..."

"Hey, hey. Don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault, okay?" His older brother tried to reassure him, "It was their fault for attacking you in the first place!"

Choromatsu eyes saddened. His brother's reassurance went on deaf ears, "Yeah..."

"You'll get better at it. You were just defending yourself." His brother rests his hand on his shoulders. He winced. But, didn't move away, "Don't feel too bad about it."

"Did they die?"

"No idea." Osomatsu shrugged his shoulders, "I was more worried about you than the guy. So, I didn't really check. You bled through your clothes, so we have both Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu going to the village and getting you, new clothes.

"At least; everyone is okay." He resigned, that's all that mattered to him.

"MOM! DAD! HELP ME!" 11-year-old Choromatsu cried out in fear. His eyes were glowing green, his hands were also green. Furniture in his room lifted up.

Suddenly, the door busted open, his father, mother, and his eldest brother was running towards him. Matsuyo wraps her arms around her younger son, humming a tune to calm him down, "Shh! It's okay, Choromatsu. It's okay."

"Calm down, Choromatsu!" Osomatsu said, grabbing his brother's hand, "It's going to be okay. There's no need to be scared!"

"I CAN'T CONTROL IT, NII-SAN!"

"You just need to breathe, son," Matsuzo said. He was by his son's side, rubbing his back, "Breathe."

Choromatsu took deep breaths, he didn't understand why this was happening to him. He knew of mages, he was aware of how they were treated. This scared him terribly, but the support from his family started to calm him down.

The furniture dropped to the ground, some of his furniture broke upon impact.

"My son, a mage. " Matsuyo finally said; after things had calmed down, "This is good news."

"There hasn't been a mage in our family for decades." Matuzo grinned at his son, "I'm very pleased."

"Congrats, Choromatsu!" Osomatsu grinned at his younger brother, his eyes beaming with pride.

 **"** You guys... are happy for me?" Choromatsu's eyes widen in shock, tears threatening to spill, "I thought, people hated mages."

"Why would we hate you?" Matsuyo strokes her son's hair, "Sure, we might have to-" She pauses and then sighs, "We can't tell anyone about this, Choromatsu. Your brothers' deserve to know, but that's as far as it goes, do you understand me?"

Matsuzo nodded his head in agreement, "We would never hate you, Choromatsu. This is great news! You have been blessed with a gift. Use it wisely."

Choromatsu was glad for his parents' acceptance. He knew a lot of people weren't so lucky.

"We will get you a teacher as soon as we can." Matsuzo reassured, moving away from his sons, "Remember, this stays between us and the family, no one else. Do you understand?

"Yes, dad." Choromatsu said.

"Good boy." Matsuzo grins at his son and leaves. Matsuyo gives her son, one final squeeze before leaving. Osomatsu stood behind, wanting to make sure his brother was okay.

"I'll protect you, Choromatsu." He said.

"Huh?"

"If anyone gives you a hard time, I'll take care of them for you."

"Thank you, Nii-san."

Karamatsu had wanted Totty outside for him to get some fresh air. Todomatsu was somewhat grateful for it. It was nice and breezy outside and the surrounding area was nice. Karamatsu had gone with Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu to get some new clothes for Choromatsu and they told him that they should back before sundown.

With Homura's permission, Chibita had started cooking inside the hut. He could already smell the soup. It smelled nice. It was a good decision to bring Chibita along. They would have starved without him.

Homura had wrapped bandages around his leg and gave him herbs to prevent a fever. She was nice and caring. Also, cute.

He was going to flirt with her until he saw the way Jyushimatsu was staring at her. He knew that look. It was rather obvious that Jyushimatsu had a crush on her, only after knowing her for a day. He decided, he was going to help his younger brother with his crush.

Sundown arrived, just on cue. His brothers had arrived. Karamatsu held the clothes in his hands. Ichimatsu had his head in the clouds like he normally does and Jyushimatsu seemed happier for the most part. Karamatsu had gone into the hut to give Choromatsu, his clothes. Ichimatsu decided to wander around. Jyushimatsu was going to follow him, "Jyushimatsu-niisan! Can you come here for a second?"

Both brothers exchanged looks before Jyushimatsu shrugged, walking towards his youngest brother, "Yes, Ototo~?!" He exclaimed, happily.

"I've seen the way, you look at Homura." Todomatsu had decided to get right to the point.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Totty!"

He was an awful liar. He could tell the way, Jyushimatsu was looking away.

"Do you like her, nii-san?"

His brother knew he was caught, he started to rub his arm nervously, "Yeah!" He said, "I don't know how to talk to her. She's always busy."

"So talk to her, when she's not." He grinned at his brother, "I know her routine, already. She's tending to Choromatsu at the moment and then she is going to check up on me. After that, she tends to her farm." He gestured his head towards the field, where the animals are, "I suggest you talk to her then. She's really nice, trust me."

"I know." Jyushimatsu face flushed with red from ear to ear, he squeezed his arm tightly, "She's really pretty. What if she gets scared of me?"

"You're not that scary." Todomatsu chuckled.

"What if she rejects me?"

"Only an idiot would reject you, nii-san."

"I will only bring her pain. I'm a noble after all-" Now, he was just making excuses to not see her. It was starting to annoy him.

"Go see her, Jyushimatsu."

"Okay..."

Jyushimatsu sat next to Todomatsu and waited for his Homura to come outside. It didn't take long for her to do so. She had a bucket filled with hay in one hand, while having a bandage on the other. Homura puts the bucket to the side. On cue, Homura re-bandaged Todomatsu, "Good! It's healing, just like I promised." She smiles at Todomatsu reassuringly, "I still want you to take some of the herbs, Chibita had brought with him."

Todomatsu made a disgusted face while Homura laughed, "I know! I know! Yarrows can taste nasty. It's so that you won't get sick. You should have seen Choromatsu's face when he tasted the herbs. He almost looked he was going to vomit. Anyway-" She stopped mid-sentence to re-bandage him, "There! All done!"

"Thank you, Homura-chan!"

Homura grabbed her bucket again, "Homura-chan! Let Jyushimatsu help you with the bucket! He's really strong, trust me!"

Homura glances towards Jyushimatsu. He peers down in embarrassment, "Are you sure? I don't want to bother anyone." She said, blushing as well.

"I-It's no problem." He looked up at her, grinning from ear to ear. He took the bucket in his hands, "Just tell me what to do."

The two of them walked towards the field, together. Todomatsu smirked as he watched the two. He can be a good brother at times.

"Just put the hay in front of the horse." Homura watched in amusement as Jyushimatsu did what he was instructed to do.

The horse came into view, eating the hay from his hands. Jyushimatsu laughed; because the horse's mouth tickled him.

Homura laughed again, "You're so good with animals, Jyushimatsu-kun!"

"No, my brother is the one who is good with that stuff!"

"You could have fooled me."

"Have you always been here, Homura-chan?" Jyushimatsu looks at her while petting the horse.

"I have." Homura nodded at him, "Since I was little. My grandpa and I lived here."

"Where's your Grandpa?!" Jyushimatsu said, looking around the area.

"He's gone." Homura smiled sadly, "He died a few years ago."

His smile fell. He was an idiot for bringing this up, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay!" Homura soothed, "Don't worry about it, you didn't know, okay?"

Jyushimatsu moves away from the horse. He had to be the idiot to mention her grandpa. He probably just messed it up for himself. Totty would be so disappointed.

"Homur-" He began. He stopped when he saw soldiers approaching the area. So much for peace and quiet. He took notice of Homura hiding behind him, "They're here."

"They?"

"They come to take my land."

Not on his watch.

"Stay here."

"Jyushimatsu!"

"Stay put!"

"Jyushimatsu." Ichimatsu was already outside, sword in his hands. His older brother looked like he was ready to kill someone again. He wanted to avoid that. He wanted to avoid any type of violence for today.

Karamatsu was by Todomatsu's side, having him in one arm while having his other hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Troubles always follows us." He grumbled under his breath, "Let's go inside." He said to Todomatsu.

Jyushimatsu stood in front of the house; his sword was sheathed. Unlike, his brother. He didn't bother to bring it out.

Karamatsu reappeared shortly afterwards. His hand still on the hilt. A moment later, Osomatsu appears. Choromatsu didn't appear, meaning he was still in the house.

No one moved for a moment.

Osomatsu was the one to step forward. A frown clearly evident on his face, "What do you want?" He demanded, he was calm and was in no mood for disturbances.

"Where's Homura?!" One of the soldiers demanded, snickering to one of his pals.

"Not here, obviously." Osomatsu answered.

"Maybe, she's in the barn." One of the soldiers gestured towards the barn. He went towards the direction to the barn.

On instinct, Jyushimatsu stepped in front of the soldier, "You need to leave."

"Oh?" The soldier got closer to Jyushimatsu, withdrawing his sword. In an attempt to be intimidating.

"What are you going to do about it?" Jyushimatsu did not flinch nor did he move from his spot.

"You should go." He repeated, a little less patient this time.

"There's four of us, and three of you." Osomatsu said, "Do you really want to fight us? It won't end well."

The soldiers seemed to consider this. The soldier, or the leader that spoke up first, had a cocky grin on his face, "Tell Homura, if she knows what's good for her. She'll meet us here tonight. She has a lot of 'work' to do." The leader nudged towards his friend, who snickered.

The soldiers left.


	5. Chapter 5

Jyushimatsu watched as the soldiers' leave the area. Ichimatsu muttered under his breath, sheathing his sword and disappearing once again. Osomatsu breathed a sigh of relief and walked back inside. Karamatsu went back inside the house, most likely to check on their youngest brother.

Jyushimatsu turns around to see Homura hiding behind the door. He walks towards the barn. He offered her a smile to reassure that everything was okay, "Homura." He said, in a gentle tone. She hid behind the door. There was something that Homura wasn't telling him. It hurts him to see her this way, "Homura." He said again, he hoped, he didn't sound like he was being persistent.

"Jyushimatsu-kun." She whispered. Homura slowly emerged from behind the door. She was shaking like a leaf.

"It's okay." Jyushimatsu wraps his arms around Homura.

She tensed up at first at his touch, slowly she loosened up, leaning her head against his chest, "I can't pay for the farm, anymore." She started to explain, "When I can't pay up, they make me..." Homura buried her head against his chest, "They make do things that I don't dream of doing. All to pay them for the farm that was passed down to me. You must think so low of me right now. You must hate me-"

"I don't hate you." Jyushimatsu smiles, placing his hand on her cheeks, "I'm sorry, you have to go through this." Beneath that smile of his; his blood was boiling. He never felt this angry, before. He felt like taking out his anger on those soldiers, who took advantage of Homura. She was so sweet. Who the hell would take advantage of that?

"Jyushimatsu?"

"Get some rest. You need it." Jyushimatsu pats her head gently, "I'll look after the farm. I promise!"

"Jyushimatsu..."

"Go on." He beckons her towards her home, "I'm going to stand guard."

She casts a worried glance towards him. Homura turns around and heads back towards the hut. As soon as Homura went inside the hut. Jyushimatsu bangs his fist against the barn's door, "I'll get them for you, Homura. No one takes advantage of you and gets away with it."

Pain flared up in his wrist. He ignored it.

He left the barn, his eyes darting around for Ichimatsu.

Ichimatsu was sitting on the edge that was facing the ocean. Jyushimatsu smirked, tiptoeing his way towards his older brother.

"What are you trying to do, Jyushimatsu?" It was like, Ichimatsu had eyes behind his back. He always knew when someone was approaching him. It was always hard to sneak up on him.

"I got caught!" Jyushimatsu grinned, raising his hands in the air to surrender. He plops himself down next to Ichimatsu.

"I want to ask you something," Jyushimatsu said, now completely serious.

"It... rare to see you like this." Ichimatsu turns to him.

"She told me some 'personal' information." Jyushimatsu didn't feel comfortable telling his older brother about what Homura had told him, "I want to get back at those soldiers for what they did."

Ichimatsu arched an eyebrow at him. He didn't say anything at first. Jyushimatsu was prepared for his older brother to scold him. To tell him, he shouldn't do it. Instead, his brother grinned at him, got up from the ground and said, "Let's do it."

"We're going to scare them, okay? No killing."

"Yeah..."

"Come on." Jyushimatsu got up again, taking Ichimatus's hand and yanking him up on his feet.

The two head towards the front of the hut, they didn't know where they were going. Jyushimatsu had a vague idea of where he was going.

"Where are you two going?"

Jyushimatsu looked back behind him to see Karamatsu by the doorway, staring at them suspiciously. He grinned at his older brother. He didn't want to be mean, in fact, he never was. Karamatsu was easy to trick. He was going to punch himself later for lying to him. He didn't like to lie and it was rare when he did. But, he couldn't have his brother interfering with their plans. Not after the incident with the bandits.

"We're going to patrol the area, nii-san!" Jyushimatsu instantly felt guilty for lying, "We don't want those men showing up again!"

"I'll join you then," Karamatsu smiled, taking a step outside.

"It's okay, nii-san! We'll be back shortly, just take care of Totty, okay? Tell him I said, hi!"

"Are you sure?" Karamatsu instantly frowned at the two.

"Yeah..." Ichimatsu stared at his older brother, "We'll be back."

"Alright. I'll let Osomatsu know. Be safe, you two." Karamatsu went back inside the hut.

Jyushimatsu grabs his brother's hand, going into a sprint, "We have to hurry!" He wanted to do this fast; before the rest of his brothers found out.

They walked on the path towards the village. The soldiers could be on patrol there. Jyushimatsu shivered, it was starting to get cold. He looks at Ichimatsu, who is shivering too. He gave his brother a nod, a signal to continue on, "I'll be fine."

Jyushimatsu had a hard time keeping his hood over his head as the breeze intensifies.

They finally spot the three soldiers guarding the entrance to the village. Jyushimatsu gripped the handle of his sword. This can go both ways, either bad or good. Ichimatsu was by his side now, already had his sword drawn out. The three soldiers spot them. The leader of the group stepped forward with a smirk on his face, "What do you want?"

"Leave Homura alone. That's all I ask." Jyushimatsu wasn't the least bit intimidated.

"No." He said, walking closer to Jyushimatsu. On cue, both guards walk towards the two princes.

"She's supposed to give her land to the state a long time ago. She begged us not to." One of the guards smirked at Jyushimatsu.

"I'll say it again." Jyushimatsu did not back down, "Leave Homura alone."

"Or what?" The leader inched closer to Jyushimatsu, "Is that a request or a demand?"

"It's a demand." Ichimatsu got closer to the leader, "We're not going to ask again."

The leader the pushed Jyushimatsu back. Jyushimatsu stumbled back, he barely had time to react as the leader pounced him.

Jyushimatsu struggled with the leader. He manages to the push the leader away from him. He got up from the ground, dusting himself off as if he wasn't affected by what just occurred, "You're going to try harder than that."

This seems to piss off the leader. He dashes towards him. This time, Jyushimatsu quickly moved away.

"Missed!" Jyushimatsu teased. Now, it was his turn. He punches the leader, his fist slamming into his face. The leader backed up. Jyushimatsu used this opportunity to kick him in the stomach, making the soldier fall to the ground. He peers down at the soldier, only to see a figure behind him, he could see the figure raising his sword.

He ducked down at the figure swung his sword. He was going to make his move; when he was knocked to the side by Ichimatsu.

"Where's the other one?" Jyushimatsu pressed his foot on the leader's stomach.

Ichimatsu glanced over to the knocked out soldier on the ground, "I quickly knocked him out when he was about to go after you."

"Thanks, nii-san!"

Ichimatsu focuses his attention back to the other soldier. His sword was out. He wasn't really going to use it until this idiot had drawn his out. The soldier swings his blade. Ichimatsu quickly blocked it with his own sword. He backs up, swinging his own sword at his opponent, managing to slice at his waist. The soldier yelped, looking down at his wound.

He didn't let the soldier react, he kicked the soldier where his wound was. The soldier screamed in pain. He brought the man to the ground without any more trouble.

Jyushimatsu grabs the leader by his uniform, dragging him towards his brother. The leader resorted to cursing and screaming at them.

"You won't get away with this!" He hissed. Ichimatsu rolls his eyes at the guy. He'll make SURE, they won't say a word about what happened tonight.

"What should we do with them, nii-san?" Jyushimatsu asked his brother.

"I think we should kill them." He deadpanned, he walks over towards the other soldier, placing the tip of his blade near the man's throat.

"N-no, please don't." The man whimpered.

"Be a man, you coward!" His leader said, glaring at his comrade.

He pressured the blade, the tip now going into his skin.

The man cried out in pain.

"I-I'll do anything!"

"You sure about that?" Ichimatsu asked. He didn't remove the sword just yet, he needed to hear the words himself.

"Y-Yes!"

Ichimatsu removes the tip of the sword away from his neck, "I don't want to see you near the farm again, do you hear me?"

The soldier nodded.

"Good, take your friend and leave." He nodded towards the unconscious body, "I don't want to see you, scumbags around here again."

The soldier left, grabbing his comrade from the ground and leaving. Now, there is one more left, "Jyushimatsu. How do you want to handle this one? I'm pretty sure, if we leave him here, he can tell his friends and they might come back for revenge."

Jyushimatsu seems to be concentrating, "I don't know, nii-san. I think we should kill him."

"Ha! You can't kill me! The army would be after you!"

Ichimatsu snickered at that, "You think so? I don't know. After, what I saw with your comrades there. I think, they all, but abandoned you."

The leaders face fell, after coming to the realization that his buddies weren't coming back.

"I'm going to say it again. Leave Homura alone."

"Or what?"

This time, Jyushimatsu loses his temper. He slams his foot onto the leader's stomach, making the man cough up blood.

"We'll make you disappear." Ichimatsu crouched down to the soldiers level, "Trust me, no one will notice. I doubt, your friends will care."

The leader appeared to be nervous, which was exactly what Ichimatsu wanted, "Fine." He said, "I'll leave Homura alone, she isn't worth it."

"Good." Jyushimatsu glared at the guy, "I don't want to see you near her again." He removes his foot from the guy's stomach. The leader grumbled some curse words before getting up, walking towards the direction his friends' ran off to.

"Nice acting, Jyushimatsu."

"You think so?" Jyushimatsu grinned widens, "Was I that good?"

"I almost believed it, when you said you were going to kill him."

"Ha! You think so? We both made promises that we weren't going to kill them."

Ichimatsu grinned back at his younger brother, "Let's head back."

"It's cold, nii-san," Jyushimatsu said. He wrapped his cloak around his body for warmth. Ichimatsu did the same thing. Throughout their trip, they were on guard. They feared that they would be ambushed any moment. Jyushimatsu doubted it. He had scared those soldiers shitless. He hoped this was first and last time, he would have to deal with this again. Deep down, he really wished he killed the guy, he didn't deserve to live after what he had done to Homura. The world would be a better place if scum like him, didn't exist.

He shook that thought away. If he killed him, he would have sunk lower than that guy. What will Homura think of him, if he killed that guy? Ichimatsu looked like he wanted to kill that guy too. What's done is done and there was no changing it. He could finally move on now. He could focus his attention on Homura again.

They arrived just before dawn. Jyushimatsu rubbed his eyes tiredly. After tonight's events. He wanted to sleep for a long time.

Ichimatsu seemed to be reading his mind, "Let's sleep in the barn. I'm sure, Homura won't mind."

Jyushimatsu nodded, following Ichimatsu to the barn.

Jyushimatsu threw himself on the hay. Ichimatsu slept next to him, curling up like a cat.

He closed his eyes, letting the exhaustion take over.

"Your highnesses! Please get down from the tree!" One of the maids cried out, she looked close to fainting.

Jyushimatsu was on a tree branch with his older brother Ichimatsu, who was perched on a branch, he had learned to climb on a tree, just recently. He decided to test his skills and brought Ichimatsu along. Sadly, as soon as he started to climb. He had heard the maids calling out for him. They never really let him do anything fun, so he decided to scare them a little. Ichimatsu happened to be with him at the time, to his surprise, he can climb up just as efficiently as he can.

"Hi!" Jyushimatsu waved down at the maids; they were panicking.

"Someone get the queen!"

"Uh oh ..." He heard Ichimatsu mutter under his breath, "We're in for it, now."

One of the maids rushed off to retrieve the twins' mother. The rest of the maids were whispering to themselves saying things like how they were going to get fired for not watching Jyushimatsu carefully and why couldn't Jyushimatsu remain calm? Why couldn't Jyushimatsu be like his brothers?

It upsets Jyushimatsu. Hearing those things, he never showed it. He just kept on smiling. He didn't want to be normal like his brothers. He was Jyushimatsu! The excitable one. The happy one! He always brought a smile to people's faces. Sure, they were people who would get annoyed by his behavior. They kept it amongst themselves. He could tell, he can always tell. The way they look at him.

The annoyed look.

"We should get down..." Ichimatsu eyes focused on the ground.

"Why!" Jyushimatsu giggled, "Just look at the view." He pointed his finger towards the village that was over the castle walls, "It's a nice view, isn't it?"

"I guess... But, is it worth getting in trouble over?"

" Always!"

"Jyushimatsu! Ichimatsu! Get down here!" T hey saw their mother walking towards them. She didn't panic like the maids. Just... Annoyed. The look; that he secretly hated.

Ichimatsu was already climbing down from the tree. Jyushimatsu decided to stay put on the branch.

"Hi MOM!" Jyushimatsu waved his sleeveless hand at his mother. When Ichimatsu got down, his mother scolded him gently. She then strokes his hair and hugged before letting him be taken care of by the maids. Matsuyo then looked up at her son, walking over to the tree, climbing up.

Jyushimatus gulped. He stubbornly remained on the branch.

She sat next to him, offering him a warm smile, "What's this about you, giving the maids a hard time?"

"The maids were booring! I wanted to have some fun, so I-" He grins at her sheepishly, "wandered away and dragged Ichimatsu-niisan with me!"

"You can't have us panicking like that, Jyushimatsu. What would happen if you fell, hmm?" Matsuyo strokes her younger son's hair.

"Oh yeah..." It was no secret that Jyushimatsu was clumsy as he was energetic. He had fallen constantly and sustained injuries as a result.

"I'll be fine!" He nuzzles under her touch, "I haven't fallen!"

"Yet." She finished, bringing her son close, "You need to be careful, okay? You bouncing around like that is going to get you hurt, or worse, someone else hurt."

Jyushimatsu frowned at that, "I can?"

"It doesn't mean that you should stop." His mother said gently, stroking his cheek, "Never stop being you, Jyushimatsu. Just be careful."

For a whole week, they stood in Kyofu Valley. After that incident with the soldiers, they didn't bother Homura anymore, which had Jyushimatsu sigh with relief. He had been on alert and constantly patrolling the area, making sure no one trespassed onto her property. Homura seemed to be happy that she would no longer be harassed by those soldiers. Jyushimatsu wasn't sure if she knew about him fighting them. He wasn't going to tell her either.

They spent as much as time as they possibly can. They took long walks, he helped her with her farm. They chased each other around. The two always ended up on the ground, laughing and coated with dirt.

He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay with her. He got sad, thinking about leaving her behind. Especially, when Osomatsu made an announcement that they will be leaving tomorrow. Choromatsu had recovered, fully. He was glad that his older brother had recovered. He just wanted to stay with Homura. He knew that his older brothers wouldn't let him. They had to keep going. One day, he would come back to visit her.

He never really felt like this before. Would mom and dad approve of her? She was a commoner, after all. He was sure; that they didn't care. When this was all over, he would introduce her to his parents. And if things go well-

Well.

He blushed at the thought of it.

"Jyushimatsu-kun." Homura had squeezed his hand. She is leaning on his shoulder, watching the sunset with him, "I'm going to miss you. It's going to be hard, without you."

"I know." Jyushimatsu looks saddened. He returns the squeeze, "In the next village, I'll write you a letter. How about that?"

Homura smiles at this, "I would love that, Jyushimatsu."

"One day, I'm going to introduce you to my parents."

Homura's cheeks turn red, her grip on his hand tightened, "Are you sure? What if the king and queen don't like me?"

"Are you kidding me?!" He took her hands into his. His grin never leaving his face. Homura was taken by surprise at first, but then smiled warmly at him, "They would love you! I'm sure of it! When I get to see them again, I'm going to tell them all about you!"

"Oh, Jyushimatsu." Tears well up in her eyes.

"What's wrong?!" Jyushimatsu seemed frantic. He didn't mean to upset Homura like this! What should he do?!

"I'm going to miss you."

His frantic look was replaced with sadness, "Me too. We'll see each other soon."

"Promise?" Homura turns to him, with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I promise."

Homura hugged him. Jyushimatsu returns the hug. He was going to see her one day, even if it killed him.

The dreaded day came as Jyushimatsu prepared to leave. Todomatsu is walking on his two feet again. Jyushimatsu saw Choromatsu for the first time in a week. He had much more color than he had when he was stabbed in the chest. Osomatsu was close by. He had said, Choromatsu was still weak. He was able to walk. They would have to take their time. Chibita was talking to Homura, he had a bag in his hands. Homura had lent him some recipes and herbs; so that he could continue caring for the brothers while they make their journey to their parents' home.

Karamatsu was caring for Todomatsu. He had been tending to him. Since he had gotten sliced in the leg. It was typical for him to get protective after one of his brothers would get hurt. Todomatsu clung onto his older brother. It was an old habit of his. He only did it, when he was scared.

All of the brothers' said their thank you's. They were appreciative of her help. Choromatsu especially, who had his head on the ground, murmuring his thank you's over and over. If it weren't for her. It was possible that Choromatsu could have caught an infection. They all bowed in respect, before heading down the path towards their next destination.

"I'll give you a couple of minutes." Osomatsu nodded towards Jyushimatsu. Ichimatsu went to join the others down the path.

"Thank you, nii-san."

Jyushimatsu turns towards Homura. She was standing in front of the hut with a sad smile on her face.

"This is it, huh?" She walks towards Jyushimatsu. She wraps her arms around Jyushimatsu, holding him tightly.

Jyushimatsu returns the hug. Trying to withhold himself from crying.

"Yeah."

"Are you still going to write to me, every day?" Homura asked him.

"Of course, I promised. Remember?

The two stood there, not knowing what else to say. Until, Homura leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He was caught by surprise. His face flushed with red, "H-homura?"

"Be safe, Jyushimatsu-kun."

"I will."


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm running out of supplies."

Todomatsu heard Chibita say with a sigh. They had been walking for several grueling days with tons of breaks. Sometimes, they had to stop because Choromatsu couldn't walk any further, despite him, insisting that he would be okay. Choromatsu said; the town should be a day or two and then they could relax and get more supplies. The subject of work came up, which got everyone on edge. Todomatsu didn't want to work, why should he? It was not for a prince like him to stoop so low as to work.

"I thought you said you wanted to lie low?" Todomatsu said between bites of his bread. They were murmurs of agreements among his brothers. Choromatsu eyed him carefully, a smirk forming on his face. He didn't like that smirk. He knew his brother was planning something, now that he opened his mouth.

"One of us will work at a time. We need money. How are we going to get supplies if we don't work?" Choromatsu said. They were grunts and groans. Nobody protested. They knew, Choromatsu was right.

"You will go first." Choromatsu pointed towards Todomatsu, "You will have an easier time getting a job. Osomatsu will go with you."

"Why me?" Todomatsu seemed to be disgusted with the idea of going out and getting a job, "Why can't Karamatsu do it? Why can't any of you do it?! Why can't **you** do it?"

"Choromatsu is still weak." It was Osomatsu that stepped in, glaring down at his younger brother, "You can walk on your two feet now, right?"

"Right." Todomatsu peers down at his feet. He didn't have a lot of trouble walking as much as before. It did hurt, from time to time.

"Then, you'll work."

"This isn't fair." Todomatsu glared at his brother, "I shouldn't have to do this."

"Nothing is fair." Choromatsu said, "This is what we have to do. Until, we can get back on our feet."

"Fine." Todomatsu relented. There was a sigh of relief from the eldest brother, now that the conversation was over with.

The fire in front of them crackled. There was chatter here and there. Todomatsu didn't want any part of it. One by one, the brothers went off to sleep for their journey to the next town.

"You okay, Todomatsu?"

He peered up to see his older brother staring down at him with worry. Normally, he would scoff him off. He needed someone to talk to, right now.

"I'm okay, Karamatsu-niisan."

Karamatsu took his seat next to him, "I know how you feel, Totty."

"I don't know, what you're talking about." Todomatsu straightened, avoiding brother's concerned look.

The two have been close since the incident with the bandits. Todomatsu appreciated his brother's help in caring for him. He was kind enough to feed him herbs, while he refused to do so. His brother tended to his bandages, cleaned up his wounds.

"You want to go home."

Todomatsu sighed, "Yeah." He hated doing this, traveling around. He missed his home. He felt like everything was taken from him. Now, he had to rely on his brothers. He hated that. Totty wanted to fight like his brothers. He didn't want to be useless.

"I want to be useful."

Karamatsu turns to him with a smile on his face. He pats his brother on the back gently, "And I will help you, Todomatsu. Right now, you're going to help us by getting a temporary job so we can get some food. It's not just you, all of us are going to pitch in. So, you won't have to work all the time."

"I want to learn how to fight."

Silence ensued. Todomatsu wasn't sure if he had said the right thing or not. He turns towards his brother. There was no longer a smile on his face. He felt the grip on his shoulder getting tighter, "Todomatsu." His brother said; he looked serious now.

"Is this what you want?" His brother asked him.

"Yeah."

His brother sighed, "Very well."

The two sat alone in the campfire before Todomatsu finally decided to go to sleep, leaving Karamatsu by the fire.

"Todomatsu." He heard a soft whisper. Someone was shaking him gently. He slowly stirred from his sleep. Rubbing his eyes, he cracked his eyes open to see Karamatsu. He had a bow in his hands; that was made out of wood, "What-"

"You wanted to learn how to fight, right?" He grabs his brother's hand, gently raising him up from the ground.

"Yeah... But, at this hour?" He tiredly looked around to see it was still nighttime.

"No time, then now." He grinned, "Besides, you're going to be busy later. Come on, and don't make too much noise."

Todomatsu slowly crept around his brothers, they were all sound asleep on the ground. By now, they were used to it. Even him. There were times where he wanted to sleep in his cozy bed in his room. Sometimes, he thought this was all some fever dream that his brain cooked up. It was all too real. Which he hated.

They didn't go far. They were still by the camp. There was a small clearing in the forest. Karamatsu stopped in the middle and beckoned for his brother to come forward.

His older brother stared at him before approaching him, "I need you to space your feet." He instructed, pointing to his feet. His brother didn't just sword fight, he practiced archery as well. He would practice more than his brother. A little too much, as his father would tell his brother every time, Karamatsu would exit the training grounds. He never took breaks, which was always a problem.

Todomatsu knew Karamatsu well. His brother would tell him, how he was doing this to protect the family. Totty would roll his eyes at him at the time. Thinking, he was over-exaggerating.

He knew what Karamatsu meant now.

"Did you make that?" He asked, pointing to the arrow that Karamatsu was holding. He had never seen it before.

"Yep! I carved it myself!" Karamatsu handed up the bow. Todomatsu couldn't help, but notice the cuts on his brother's hands. Karamatsu seems to have noticed him staring. He quickly retracted his hands, giving him a reassuring smile, "It's alright, Totty! It's for a good cause!"

Todomatsu takes the bow and nodded, going into stance just like what Karamatsu had instructed.

"Stand up straight and rotate your head over your shoulder. You have to be close as possible to the bow."

Todomatsu did what he was told, he held his bow, turning his head over his shoulder.

"Rotate your hips."

"Okay."

"I don't have arrows. We'll get some tomorrow; when you're finished with work. So just-" Karamatsu gave him a sheepish grin, "pretend."

"Push your shoulders down, Totty. You look stiff."

Todomatsu casts his older brother an annoyed look, "Perfectionist."

Todomatsu didn't think being an archer would be so hard. He realized there was a lot of dedication and time put into this. He was practicing without arrows. They were only doing the basics like stance and how you shoot. Karamatsu stopped their lesson by the time it was morning, "Rest, my brother." He strokes his little brother's hair, much to his chagrin, "You have a lot of work to do today."

He didn't really feel like sleeping. He did, lie down on the cold hard ground until Osomatsu appeared hours later with his usual grin on his face, "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah." Todomatsu got up from the ground and walked with him. They walked on the dirt road, leading to a city. Several people appeared which made Todomatsu nervous, making him cling onto his older brother.

Osomatsu had to shake him off. Luckily the people were walking ahead him, wearing hoods as were people with carts, most likely merchants entering the city. Good. That means they could blend in.

They walked past the guards that were standing guard, without much of an issue. Both of them sighed in relief. When they walked in, there is a fountain in front of them, where kids were splashing with their hands, giggling. Stalls were being set up for selling, above the stalls were red lanterns, when the wind blew into them, they made a nice swooshing sound.

"So where do we go?" Todomatsu looked around. It was nice to see people here. Maybe, while he was working, he could learn more information.

"Hmm..." Osomatsu seemed to be deep in thought, "Let's walk down and see where we can go."

Todomatsu had to push past the numerous people that were blocking his way. He was almost hard to catch up to his brother. He glanced around, some of the vendors were selling food, potions, herbs, weapons. This place had everything.

The people were starting to dim as they continued on. Osomatsu stopped by a building that said, 'pub' on it. On the window, it stated, 'help wanted.'

"Go in." Osomatsu grinned.

Todomatsu nodded, stepping inside the pub. It was huge with people inside drinking to their hearts contempt.

The people inside the pub, pay him no mind at all. Todomatsu walked up to the counter to see a large man with red hair and a beard. He had an apron with a kitten printed on it. He thought it was odd, despite the man's tough appearance.

"Uh..." Todomatsu approached the counter to gain his attention.

The man turned to face him. He stared at Todomatsu, his eyes inspecting him, "Yeah?"

"I heard you were looking for some help."

"Where you hear that?" He asked, suspicious.

"It said so, outside."

"Ah," The man turns towards the window and sighed, "So, it does." He focuses his attention back on Todomatsu, "You're very scrawny. Not exactly, what I'm looking for."

"I can tend to the beer. I can do whatever you want me to do." Todomatsu said, now desperate.

The guy seemed to be taking this into consideration, "I've never seen you around here before. You just moved here?"

"Yes."

"I also have an inn upstairs. You think, you change the beds and provide food?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good," The man extends his hand out to Todomatsu, "The name is Ros!"

"Totty," Todomatsu smiles at him. He gave a polite bow to his new boss, "Thank you for hiring me!"

"Now, now. No need for formalities." Ros chuckled, waving his hand at his new employee with dismissal, "You think you can work a little today?"

"Of course!"

"Great, I need you to serve some customers their beer, then tend to the beds upstairs." He hands him an apron with a cat on it, "Got it? I'll pay you once you're done for the day."

"Thank you!" He took the apron into his hands.

Todomatsu served the beer to each table with ease. He made conversation with several men; that were at the pub. He had an easier time adjusting to socializing with anyone other than his brothers.

"Hey kid, you heard about what happened to Sarkana?" One of the men asked him, as he took a whiff of his beer.

Todomatsu paused. He had almost forgotten about Sarkana. After, all he had been through. He had completely forgotten about her. How could he? He was a terrible person for forgetting! She must hate them for forgetting about her.

Princess Totoko.

"Kid?"

"What happened?" Todomatsu finally asked.

The guy placed down his beer, tapping the jug. Todomatsu knew that was the cue to pour more beer into his jug, "Where have you been? Living in a cave?" Several of his buddies, who were with him snickered.

"Traveling." Todomatsu shrugged his shoulders. It took a lot for him to suppress his anger. When Osomatsu hears about what happened. He would not be pleased. None of them will be. But, his eldest brother would take it much harder. He was a lot closer to Totoko than either of his brothers.

"Ahh, that explains it."

"Is the princess, okay?" Todomatsu pressed for more details.

One of them shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah. The princess was okay. Not sure about now. It was only a week ago; since we last heard about them."

Todomatsu continued on with his job, he cleaned the sheets upstairs, washed the floors, clean the tables downstairs. His boss was watching him with an impressed look evident on his face, "Nice work!" He smirked, he had several coins in his hands. Enough for food and some herbs to buy.

"Thank you." He said, taking the money into his hands.

"I expect you here tomorrow understood? Before lunch hits, preferably."

"Understood!" Todomatsu gave Ros one last bow before heading out. He didn't see Osomatsu anywhere. Meaning, he had left.

"Stupid impatient brother." He mumbled under his breath. He gazed up at the sky, it was almost nighttime. He should hurry up and buy the supplies before the vendors closed up for the night.

He had bought food and herbs. He was going to buy arrows. He didn't have enough money for it. He would have to come back tomorrow and get it. He was eager to practice.

The thought of Princess Totoko hit him again. Is she okay? Did Tougou do anything to her? What the hell was Tougou planning? He better not have done anything to Totoko. Or to his parents. He would pay if something ever happened to his family.

He grits his teeth bitterly.

If that man hurts his family; like what he had done a long time ago.

He wanted to pierce an arrow into that wizard's heart.

Todomatsu puts his hood up as he exited the city. He blended in perfectly with the other travelers, he knew where to go. He had to straight down, and then go off road and into the woods.

He arrived just before sundown, his eldest brother giving him a sheepish look and said that he couldn't 'wait' for him any longer.

"Never mind that." Todomatsu gave Chibita the bag of supplies and went right to cooking. Todomatsu took his spot next to Karamatsu, "We have more pressing issues."

Everyone was on alert now, they leaned in to hear what the youngest brother had to say.

"Princess Totoko is in trouble." He explained, "Tougou took over her kingdom."

"WHAT?!" All of his brothers were on their feet. Devastated looks evident on their faces. As expected, Osomatsu took it the worst, cursing and screaming Tougou's name.

"We've been so busy with our situation; that we hadn't thought..." Choromatsu started to say.

"That we forgot about her." Osomatsu finished, clenching his fist.

"Sarkana is so far away..." Choromatsu's voice trails off, "It's at the other side of the country. By the time we get there-Who knows what would happen next!"

"Totoko..." Osomatsu said, his eyes saddening, "First, I failed as a king. Now, I failed as a friend."

"Osomatsu." Choromatsu got up to comfort his older brother. Osomatsu quickly moved away from Choromatsu, walking towards the opposite direction, deeper into the woods.

"OSOMATSU!" Choromatsu calls out to his brother, only for the eldest brother to ignore him. Choromatsu was about to go after him. Until, Karamatsu grabbed his hand.

"He'll be back, brother."

"Food is ready!" Chibita called out to the brothers. Everyone shuffled their way towards Chibita, gathering their food and settling back onto their spots.

They ate in silence for the first time. Todomatsu was rather unsettled about it.

Todomatsu finished and walked towards Karamatsu, who was also finished as well, "Karamatsu-niisan." Todomatsu began to say, "You think we can practice a little more. With the basics?"

Karamatsu smiled at his brother, glad for a distraction, "Of course, my brother! Anything for you."

How could he let this happen?! His childhood friend was in trouble and he wasn't there to defend her. Some King, he was. It made him nervous. So far, he had no news of his mother and father. It was eating at him as he was traveling. The guilt, he felt for not protecting his home.

It was all his fault.

It was like this before. He couldn't protect Choromatsu; when Tougou picked on him. He couldn't protect his family when Tougou attacked them all these years ago.

All because he had witnessed something, he shouldn't have.

He remembered that day, very well.

"How stupid are you, huh?!" Osomatsu had overheard Choromatsu's 'teacher' yell at him. His younger shrank at the scolding, clenching his eyes shut, "You couldn't cast such a simple spell as fire! Even kids, half your age could do it!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Choromatsu stammered out an apology, bowing profusely at his teacher, "You're right, it's my fault for not casting the spell correctly, forgive me!"

"See to it; that you do." Tougou grunted at his student with disgust, "I expect results, Choromatsu. You don't want me to tell the court about you, being a mage, right? I'm sure, they wouldn't like the fact that a royal prince is a mage. Do you know what they do with mages like you?"

"N-No, what do they do?" Choromatsu looked up at his teacher with tears in his eyes.

"They lock em' up in the tower." Tougou maliciously smirked at the boy, "you're lucky, you're a noble. If you were a commoner. You would be taken away. Actually, that could still happen. You know? You being taken away. Families don't ever see their kids after they're taken."

"P-P-Please don't tell anybody." Choromatsu placed his hands, on the floor, pleading, "My family would be sad."

"Then study day and night. No breaks, no nothing. You don't get to have that privilege until you get it right, understood?"

"U-Understood."

With that, Tougou left. Osomatsu was visibly shaken. How dare this man treat his younger brother this way?! He wanted to comfort his younger brother. But, that had to wait. He had a bone to pick with Tougou.

He walked away, hearing his brother sobbing in the background. He kept his distance as Tougou went into his chambers. He snuck inside, sticking close to the door.

"-At this rate, Prince Choromatsu is no use to me." He said to himself as he paced back and forth in his chamber, "He will not be able to assist me in taking over this kingdom. None of the other brothers have no magical abilities. I might have to do this alone, then-"

Tougou stopped for a moment, glancing towards Osomatsu's direction. Osomatsu quickly hid behind the door.

He sighed in relief, when he kept on talking, "I have to skip ahead and teach him dark magic. I'll make it work. This kingdom won't last much longer. Not, when I'm around-

Osomatsu had heard enough, he left the room shortly after that to tell his parents.

Osomatsu remembered the repercussions. He had told his parents' the same day. His mom and dad looked at him in disbelief. They had questioned Choromatsu. At first, he didn't want to admit it, Preferring to take Tougou's side. When his father continued prodding him. He broke down and told them everything.

"It was you, wasn't it?!" Tougou had pointed and yelled at Osomatsu, while he was being dragged away, "You little shit! I'll make you pay!" He said, as he was being dragged away, "I'll make you and Choromatsu both wish you hadn't said anything. I curse you! I curse this family!"

His mother had both boys close to her, while Matsuzo stood in front of them, protectively .

Tougou muttered a spell under his breath. Osomatsu fell to the ground, gasping for air. He felt like he was being choked, pain shooting up from his body.

"Osomatsu!" His mother called out to him.

He felt like his body was on fire, he couldn't move. The pain was unbearable.

"H-Help me..." He managed to utter out.

"Osomatsu!" Choromatsu called out to his eldest brother, placing his hands over his brother. Greenlight glowing. He used up all the energy he had on his brother, wanting the pain, his brother was experiencing to be gone.

He felt the pain dissipate in an instant, "Choromatsu." The pain was replaced with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

"Choromatsu."

"Nii-san." Choromatsu smiled, peering down his hands.

"You did it."

"I did-" Choromatsu barely finished his sentence, he fell to the ground with a thump.

"Choromatsu!" Matsuzo called out to his son.

"Choromatsu!" Osomatsu shook his brother, "Choromatsu!"

Osomatsu could Tougou's laughter as he was being taken away .

He could still hear that laughter today.

"I'll kick your ass, Tougou. That I swear." He declared, "Totoko, I'm coming."


End file.
